From Coast to Coast and Places Inbetween

I am feeling thankful. My husband and I did a whirlwind of travel mid August – early September. It was a lot of long days of driving so that we could spend a couple days with people here and there. I sketched along the way and took thousands of photos.

We traveled with our middle daughter, Natalia, to Vancouver Island to go camping with our son, Thaddeus, and his family at Englishman River Falls Provincial Park Campground. Our grandchildren are delightful. Griffin is fearless on his bike. Jade loves playing on the playground with other children.

We came home for a day and headed out with our youngest daughter, Reena, to drive her, her bike and belongings to Kingston, ON where she will be taking the rest of her schooling at Queens University in person. We had really long days on the road, listening to audible books and music. I took out my sketchbook to capture a few things as we drove along. It was good practice in quick observation and memory as we passed by and I was still drawing the scene.

We went by way of Marblehead, MA to see Sam’s Mom, Jeanne and Mike where they relocated this year. They took us on a ferry to Boston to see historical sites there as well as around Marblehead. One of the ocean coastlines was inspiring to me! I can’t wait to work on completing a painting that has been sitting unfinished since 2018.(see the Marblehead, MA  photo above with my husband, Sam, climbing on the rocky shore)  I wasn’t able to spend the day painting, but I took photos and I hope to be working on it this fall. The picturesque town of Marblehead with the brightly colored houses reminded me of places in Europe, particularly in Norway. 

I got up early to watch the sunrise just down the street from where we were staying in Salom, MA. A heron and egret joined me. I love seeing the larger birds. 

One of our overnights on the way was with my aunt and uncle in Syracuse, NY whom I had not seen since 2000 a week after Reena was born. I was happy to introduce Reena to them and we enjoyed our brief visit, especially all the weaving creations my aunt wove. Beautiful! Seeing it brought back good memories of weaving from the time I went to school in Norway. I had enjoyed the rhythm of weaving the shuttle.

From Marblehead we traveled northwest past Ottawa to stay a couple of very restful days getting to know another uncle and aunt of mine in Pembroke, ON. Delightful! They live in a beautiful home they had built on an acreage surrounded by tall white and red pine. Hummingbirds and a variety of other birds came to their feeders. We were too early for the fall colors, but one or two had started to turn.

After we dropped off Reena and got her set up (we went shopping for furniture – a desk, chair and bed),
we stopped to see Niagara Falls briefly on our way back toward Chicago. It was only an extra 2 hour side trip to the day.

We had lived in Chicago before, so we went to stay with our friends for the long weekend before heading back to Edmonton. Sam went kayaking on the Chicago River, we went biking down the lake shore pathway, we went to the Art Institute and saw my favorite impressionists’ paintings and the Botanical Gardens.

I will devote another post to the art institute and my favorite painters. Here I am in front of one of them - George Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte - 1884. It is all done with dots of paint.

We had a couple days home before we went camping with my son, Nathaniel and his wife for the weekend. We hiked to see another waterfalls. It was a good way to end the summer trips. I am so thankful we had one more trip with our dog, Lizzy.

Whew! What an end to summer and beginning of fall, but I am thankful we saw everyone we did, we managed to spend time with all of our children and grandchildren. We traveled safely from coast to coast and home again. We saw beauty everywhere we went, and I am feeling inspired to paint.

I am excited! I took 19 paintings today to have them set up in an art show at The Carrot Community Coffeehouse for the month of August. Woohoo!

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted to move up my art show from November to August. On that short notice, I pulled together waterfalls and rivers that I had available and titled it “Let the Rivers Flow.” I put four of them into frames and the rest were ready to go.

Let the Rivers Flow,  August 2-27, 2022

As the rivers flow, and cascade on their downward path, spilling over rocks and making their own paths, they bring life with them to nourish the thirsty world.

I enjoy painting water, it’s movement and flow. It is peaceful to sit and take in the beauty of a river or waterfall, but to go further and capture the moment with paint is delightful. I experimented with different painting methods for capturing the water scenes: watercolor, acrylic, oil, combining ink and watercolor, and using handmade paper for texture in some of the paintings.

This series includes 19 paintings of waterfalls and rivers in Alberta, Oregon, Croatia, Iceland and Norway.

Opening Reception
7-8pm on August 4, 2022
The Carrot Community Coffeehouse
9351 118 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5G 0N3

Let the Rivers Flow Art Show will be up from August 2- 27, 2022
The Carrot Hours: Tues.-Fri. 9am to 8 pm; Sat. 9am to 10 pm. (closed Sun. and Mon.)

Registration for all the classes below are on the movelearnplay.Edmonton.ca website then click>registered programs>arts programs>adult programs> ***painting classes are now under Painting Classes and drawing classes are separate under Drawing and Mixed media art programs. The classes are listed alphabetically. I put the class code with each class that may work in the search. ALTERNATIVELY,  you can call 311 to register. There are similar class titles by other instructors. Check the time and instructor information as well. 

Classes in December

Drop in Watercolor Sessions at the Muttart

Dec 7

1 pm and 2:15 pm

sign up here as early as Nov 23 https://movelearnplay.edmonton.ca/COE/public/category/browse/MUTDIP#gsc.tab=0

all supplies and entrance fee to the pyraimds included

Enjoy capturing the beauty and colourful hues of a small poinsettia plant using watercolours.  ALL MATERIALS ARE INCLUDED, just bring yourself & your creativity.

Poinsettia Painting at the Muttart: Watercolour Workshop - Class Code   #765518  

Thurs. Dec 12 & 19, 6-9 pm (2 spots left as of Nov20)

$80 all supplies included

Paint the foliage of the ever popular poinsettia plant in the Feature Pyramid at the Muttart! Enjoy two evenings capturing the beauty and colourful hues of the leaves as you explore using watercolours. Through hands-on demonstrations from artist Julie Drew, learn to paint the poinsettia’s flowers and leaves using a variety of painting techniques. ALL MATERIALS ARE INCLUDED, just bring yourself & your creativity.

Classes in January

Acrylic Painting Explorations- Class Code: 749789

5 Fridays, Jan 10-Feb 7, 2025

1-4 pm

Location: City Arts Centre: 10943 83 Ave NW, Edmonton

cost $135

Explore the possibilities with acrylic paint with artist Julie Drew. To begin, gain knowledge in paint and colour by learning about colour mixing and themes. After getting used to brushwork and paint handling, then experiment with adding textures and inclusions: eggshells, sand, and collage elements such as handmade papers and transfer techniques. Make your own creative choices and explore your imagination using acrylic paint. Have the chance to develop your skills as you further your own style and preferences as you explore acrylic paintings with subject matter that inspires you and sparks your creativity.

Acrylic 1&2 - Class Code #749788

8 Fri. Jan 10-Feb 7, Feb 21-Mar 7, 2025

Cost: $216

Location: Dr. Anne Anderson Community Centre: 11810 35 Ave 

Quick drying time and multiple textures make acrylics a great choice for beginners and intermediates. In this weekly course learn painting basics such as composition, colour, and numerous painting techniques. Talented artists and painters will guide you through various subject matter such as still life, portraits & figures, landscapes, and much more in this inspiring and engaging weekly course. Have the opportunity to learn a wealth of knowledge and express your personal creativity.

Acrylic 1 & 2 - Class Code #749787

8 Tuesdays, Jan 21 - Mar 11, 2025

6:30-9:30 pm

Cost: $216

Location: City Arts Centre

Quick drying time and multiple textures make acrylics a great choice for beginners and intermediates. In this weekly course learn painting basics such as composition, colour, and numerous painting techniques. Talented artists and painters will guide you through various subject matter such as still life, portraits & figures, landscapes, and much more in this inspiring and engaging weekly course. Have the opportunity to learn a wealth of knowledge and express your personal creativity.

Classes in February

Discover the Joy of Watercolour - Class Code #749837

 6 Tuesdays, Feb 4 -Mar 11, 2025 

1-4pm

Cost: $162 

Location: City Arts Centre, Studio 1

Flowing watercolors without creating mud, build layers, create textures, paint rhythm, work on landscapes, portrait or abstracts. Each week we will explore the possibilities with watercolor. This class is for beginner to advance students.

Capturing the Essence of Botanicals at the Muttart: Watercolour Valentine's Card Workshop 
class code #749813

1 Sunday, Feb 9, 2025

10 am-3 pm

$80 All Supplies Included

Create your very own Valentine's Day & Floral themed cards while enjoying the gorgeous scenery at the Muttart during this one day workshop. You will have the opportunity to sketch and create compositions of the foliage and flowers in the Feature Pyramid at the Muttart. Use that inspiration to create a set of 4 watercolour cards. Please note a lunch break will be from 12:30 -1 pm, bring along your lunch if you would like, or you can purchase a lunch at Cafe Bloom or view the pyramids for longer. ALL MATERIALS ARE INCLUDED, just bring yourself & your creativity.

Capturing the Essence of Botanicals at the Muttart Conservatory: Acrylic Workshop - Class Code: 749834

3 Sundays, Feb 23-Mar 9, 2025

10 am-12:30 pm

Location: Muttart Conservatory, 9626 96a St NW, Edmonton, AB T6C 4L8

Cost $99  ALL MATERIALS  INCLUDED 

Capture the essence of flowers and variegated plants in acrylics during this three week workshop at the Muttart Conservatory. Artist Julie Drew will teach you that art is learning how to see; she will have you spend time sketching, creating composition strategies, and gathering inspiration from the botanicals in the Feature Pyramid. After drawing what stands out to you, taking photos, and finding interesting inspiration you will learn how to translate this to a painting with hands-on demonstrations and one on one instruction that will open up painting possibilities for you to explore. ALL MATERIALS ARE INCLUDED, just bring yourself & your creativity.

Winter Landscapes in the River Valley: Drawing and Painting - Class Code #749791

4 Sundays, Feb 23-Mar 9, Mar 23, 2025

 2-5 pm

$108

Yorath House , 13110 Buena Vista Rd NW, Edmonton  

It is different to draw and paint from life than just using photos. Artist Julie Drew will teach you that what our eyes can see is so much more than a photo can capture. This weekly class at Yorath House will have you experiencing your Tuesday evenings seeing and sketching the scenes around you while learning important drawing and painting skills and techniques. Each week you will spend time enjoying nature with a sketchbook and watercolour pencils in hand. 

Plein Air Drawing and Painting Supply List

Winter Colours in Watercolour : Drawing and Painting Techniques - Class Code #749802 

 6 Thursdays, Feb 6-Mar 13, 2025 

1-4pm

Cost: $180 (all supplies included)

Location: City Arts Centre, Studio 3

Let stunning fall colors inspire you as you learn composition, basic color theory, and a variety of techniques in watercolor, watercolor pencil, and ink. You will work from demos and on your own projects learning composition and mixing the mediums into a painting. This class is for beginner to advance students.

Classes in March

Capturing the Essence of Botanicals at the Muttart: Watercolour Workshop 
class code #749835

3 Thursdays, Mar 6-Mar 20, 2025

6-8:30 pm

$99 All Supplies Included

Capture the essence of flowers and variegated plants with watercolours during this three week workshop at the Muttart Conservatory. Artist Julie Drew will teach you that art is learning how to see; she will have you spend time sketching, creating composition strategies, and gathering inspiration from the botanicals in the Feature Pyramid. After drawing what stands out to you, taking photos, and finding interesting inspiration you will learn how to translate this to a painting with hands-on demonstrations and one on one instruction that will open up painting possibilities for you to explore. ALL MATERIALS ARE INCLUDED, just bring yourself & your creativity.

We had 12 of us at the Art Vocabulary for the Soul Retreat last weekend! I am so thankful for the beautiful people who came and explored as we contemplated going “Into the Unknown.” We looked at parts of the stories of Ruth and Jonah, as opposite ways of dealing with going into the unknown. We used art to process our own journeys. I was blessed with their stories, and their creativity. I was so caught up in experiencing the weekend, I forgot to take photos.

For my own exploration, I find sometimes I am like Ruth, willing to venture forth and try new things. But sometimes, I am like Jonah going the other direction or slow to make any changes until I feel prepared. One thing is sure, when I am grounded in presence, letting the flow of my creator’s living water run through me, the journey into the unknown becomes do-able and an adventure to take.

Photo of 2 pastel sketches of my processing "Into the Unknown.".

I also love going out to King’s Fold Retreat Centre. It is such a beautiful place to retreat with so many trails through woods and meadows and down to the river below.

Mark your calendar for next year’s Art Vocabulary for the Soul retreat: June 23-25, 2023. Early bird registration closes on March 20, 2023.

Happy Easter!
Christ is Risen!
He is Risen indeed!

Spring is slow in coming this year. Well, I’m not sure it is any different than other years, but we had a teasing 20C day a week ago, which has made this past week feel even more cold with its sub-zero temps.

This wintry spring that doesn’t want to let go brings to my mind the last verse of the Easter hymn, Now the Green Blade Rises:

“When our hearts are wintry, grieving or in pain, your touch can call us back to life again,
fields of our hearts that bare and dead have been; love is come again like wheat arising green.”
(J. M. C. Crum 1872-1958, French Carol)

The beauty of flowers and the promise of spring lighten my heart. They bring the promise of new life, hope, and the renewal of love touching our wintry hearts and souls. A touch our world surely needs.

I contemplated these things as I sat in the Muttart Conservatory on Monday, delighting in the lovely scent of tulips and hyacinths and painting the fresh signs of spring while the cold wind blew outside.

I continued to work on the painting a little bit more this morning, but it is still in progress. It is at the long stage of pushing and pulling, deciding what details to keep and what to abstract or suggest. The process cannot be rushed. Although I refer to the photos now and then, I also listen to the painting and let it help me decide where to take it. The delicate fringe of the frilled tulips is delightful to paint, but whether I saved the frilly whites well enough with the masking fluid I will not know until it is ready to be removed.

12 students learned to see the flowers in new ways and paint their favorites during the Acrylic Flower Painting workshop last Saturday at the Muttart. Here are some of their results:

As people learn the creative process, regardless of the medium, I find I am always teaching them how to see this beautiful world in new ways and the nuances of light and contrast. It is all about seeing and trusting the process of painting as it unfolds.

New classes begin again in May and June 2022. Click here for the selection. 

Even winter has its beauty. I completed this painting of cross-country skiing at dawn amidst the hoarfrost. Title suggestion? I loved that crisp morning with the light of dawn coming through the trees as we skied the field and enjoyed the magical hoarfrost sparkling and lighting up the trees. Medium: Acrylic on canvas, size: 14 in x 17 in.

Being around creative people sparks creativity.
Creativity relieves us of our burdensome self consciousness.
Creativity connects us to our heart and relationship with reality.
The sense of meaning and delight in creativity has more to do with the process than the end product. Find in the process what you want to communicate and find out something deeper about yourself. 
                                                                   

 - Russ Hudson, Enneagram and Creativity Online Class, Monday, February 28, 2022                                           

 

As I listened to Russ Hudson during the monthly online class I am taking on the Enneagram and Creativity, I resonated with these descriptions of creativity and  with the following parts of the Point Three perspective.

Three’s will work hard to develop their skill, and stick to goals, but threes need to let the process lead them and not the goals. Slow down, if you are in a rush you are not present. 

Art has been and still is, a saving grace for me as a Three. It has been a place to retreat into, to work out my feelings and work through fears. It has been a way to explore new things, new thoughts. Not just in my own art, but the art others produce; paintings, stories, poetry, music and dance that have inspired me to further my own journey to unknown depths in myself and my relationship with the One who Created me.

In my newsletter and blog posts over the years, I have shared some of this journey. I sometimes spend months on a theme that I feel needs exploring. Sometimes it is something I need to revisit when it comes up again. We are works in progress and like an onion, we peel off layers and find more to see within.

I asked Russ Hudson during the class about getting past the pain of failure, and why one negative voice will shut me down even amidst a large quantity of accolades. Russ encouraged me on a journey back to the heart to sit with and walk through the pain and sadness, giving time, attention and space to reframe, letting a new work spring up, allowing it to reshape what I was working on, even taking it in a direction I had not anticipated.

As I reflected on this, I remembered that although I didn’t complete to publication the book I had been working on, “Waiting on the Lord: An Artist’s Journey,” I did include some of it as I reworked and expanded the God is my Refuge Devotional book in 2017. I have since learned more about waiting and have come to realize the book wasn’t ready to be complete yet. Afterall, I have more to learn about waiting. If you were to word search ‘waiting’ on my website (and scroll down the page for the results), you will see it is a theme I still come back to. It isn’t done with me yet. I find this encouraging. Once I pass through enough layers, maybe I will be able to write it again or something new.

At our Art, Vocabulary for the Soul Retreat, we give attendees space and a starting point in which they can explore their own journey. Like the descriptions of creativity above, we also create for the joy of creating, entering the peace that can come from play and being present to our selves and our surroundings. King’s Fold Retreat Centre is in the foothills of the Rockies overlooking the Ghost River valley.

This retreat is for those who wish to explore how art can speak to them and through them. How it can have a voice that helps one to understand one's self. How the process of creating can be life giving.

All are welcome whether you think of yourself as creative or not. All art mediums are welcome to be used, such as painting, drawing, poetry, writing, song writing, music, and photography.

Will you join us this year?

Three spots left to for this year's retreat. sign up today. Payment plans available. A bursary is available to those in financial need.

Too far to drive? Calgary is the nearest airport and transportation options from the airport can be discussed with King’s Fold staff.

The month of January slipped away from me…

My daughters and I drove down to stay a week with my parents and sister in Spokane, WA. It had been 2 years since I saw them last in person. I have been thankful for being able to “see” them via zoom, but even so, it was good to be really face to face.

My sister, Dad and my daughter, Natalia, all like putting a puzzle together. Since I knew this and wanted to do something they enjoyed, I selected one.

Putting puzzle pieces together was a bit of an exercise in self awareness.

Of all the puzzles to choose from, I chose the one with the northern lights, even though I knew it would be more difficult with all the subtle shifts of color. (I am a bit obsessed with northern lights ?.)

As I worked on the sky section with all the nuances of green, I could feel the tension building within me the longer it took to find something that would fit. The lack of accomplishment in so small a thing that really isn’t that important was like seeing myself under a microscope. I could easily see this pattern, this tension and need for accomplishment rising within me. Then the unbounded joy of putting several pieces in right after another. I could even feel the failure and comparing myself toward the others who would occasionally walk up to the table, see one piece, and immediately put it in place in the puzzle.

Early on, I recognized the tension building, I decided to work on the buildings to gain a sense of achievement. Then, I could go back to the night sky of dancing green and tackle it with fresh eyes after a break. This move helped me relax and laugh at myself, letting it go.

All the feelings within me would still be there, but they had less power over me, which meant I didn’t have to act on it or let it control me as I have in the past. I could enjoy working together on the puzzle. Breathe, take my time, I did not have to be in a hurry to get things finished and get on to the next task.

It is good to see how far I have come on this journey of self awareness. It has been important as I work through paintings. Sometimes, it takes longer to get where I want the painting to go. The way I thought was not working and I must try for a new solution, do research, and try again. I need to wait for it.

I have been working on and thinking about a commission for over 11 months now. Just when I think I am ready to complete it and put it all together, another issue comes up that needs to be solved. I suppose I could have just done a straight painting, but the idea called for more, something unique. So, I have had to practice patience and waiting for the ideas to come, taking breaks to let ideas percolate and see it with fresh eyes. It is about a willingness to wait for the process and not rush it.

I had been hoping to have it finished to show you, maybe by next month it will be. Here is a picture of all pieces to this puzzle I am working on.

I

I made a video of the pieces of the painting puzzle and explain a little more of the process I have been going through with the painting. Here it is:

 Since I filmed this, I have repainted the hands until I am satisfied with them and prepared the handmade paper for the stone background. Now the stages of putting it all together. 

I have a little video I put together as a gift for your Christmas enjoyment.

As I was rewatching the little video clips on the aurora I shared in November, and the pulsing of the colors, I saw the pulsing falling into a rhythm like the repeating voices in the Halleluiah chorus. I put together a project bringing the videos and images of the Nov 4, 2021 event and some of my newer watercolor responses and music altogether. I requested and received permission (Yeah!) from some of the photographers in the Alberta Aurora Chasers group to use their beautiful photos, especially the ones that make me think of angels. I even have a still shot from one of my little videos that also looks like a figure.

As you watch the video, think about the shepherds watching their flocks at night, when an angel appeared, "and glory shone around them", telling of the good news of the Savior's birth...
      "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

Can you see the angels?

Thank you to the photographers from the Facebook group Alberta Aurora Chasers and their beautiful photos: Abdulmajid Ahmed-Jimale, Andrew Wilson, Catalin Tapardel, Christopher Candela, Grace Miron, Heidi Haenni-Hoogland, Isobell Springett and Mark Jinks

I am inspired to paint more northern lights.

Part of the fun of teaching is watching the creativity start to flow. We have finished 5 out 8 classes. The students are getting comfortable with the medium and trying some ideas of their own. (After the initial classes, I have added more of the final images for some of the student paintings. I didn't remember to take photos at each class.)

In the acrylics class, we did some fun textures of adding eggshells, sand and sawdust to provide texture to the paintings. One of the students went home and added lentils and semolina to his painting. I didn’t get a picture of that one, but here are a few others:

I brought some collage scraps of my handmade paper to the class and showed them possibilities with a couple of my own pieces.

Their ideas started flowing and they started in on creating. Their works in progress were fun to see here.

We started the process of transfers. I brought an option of my own ink drawings photocopied for the class to use. I look forward to next class and the new possibilities the students will try. The flamingo and trio of rocks are my quick samples from my ink drawings. One student was ready with her image of a polar bear which turned out great.

Some of the other projects in class:

Monochomatic painting

Experimenting with techniques: Textured backgrounds, sponging, pointilism

We did some work with Perspective in our last class:

I saw the northern lights again! And it was just as exciting and beautiful as last February. (But not as cold.)

I woke a little after 2:15 am on Thursday morning (to use the washroom), and while I was awake I thought of checking the status at aurorawatch.ca, since it was a 50% yellow alert for seeing the northern lights as I was heading to bed. The status had moved up to a red alert (70% chance) after midnight!

I was too tired to drive outside of Edmonton. It takes 45 minutes to get away from the light polution. What to do… As I pondered it, I heard one of my daughters moving around. She was just heading to bed and had to get up early, so she declined going with me.

So, I thought I would see if there was any faint sighting in the field by our house. I stepped out on our back porch and looked toward the north. I saw green bands dancing low to the horizon between the trees! They were visible right here. My heart did a happy leap and filled with anticipation and thrill. I had to share it with someone.

I went back inside to get my other daughter, Natalia, and we went to the field together to enjoy the show. I took a few pictures and we lay down in the grass and just watched the sky dance until we were too cold. (From about 3-4 am)

It may not have been as vibrant with all the Edmonton lights dimming it, but it was still beautiful and pulsing and dancing across the sky, changing patterns. Some of it looked like angel wings, some columns of lights piercing the darkness.

There are some gorgeous photos of the Aurora in the facebook group Alberta Aurora Chasers, if you want to check out some others.

I am still learning to use my new phone camera and the settings that worked outside the city didn’t work that morning, but I did some adjustments and have something to remember it with. 

I went out a couple of other times to look for the northern lights - but we missed their showing. I did, however take some lovely one of the stars as I started learning what kinds of photos my new phone can take.

This Saturday, Nov 13. I will be teaching a workshop on Painting the Northern Lights in Watercolor. There is still some room in the class if you would like to participate. (Beginner to advance students.) Click on the link for more information and the registration link.

When the fall colors start, I can’t wait to grab my supplies and a camera and go paint and enjoy it. It is such a short season here in Edmonton, so every bit counts.

My husband, Sam and I kayaked a couple hours down the North Saskatchewan River last Sunday through all the colors. It was glorious. I took some painting reference photos for my upcoming fall classes to start us off.

Yesterday morning, I went out with my plein air session painter to paint on location at the Wolf Willow stairs. We went last week, too, to the Wolf Willow Beach.

I tried out a new feature I found out about on my new phone a "directors view" which uses both the front and back cameras at the same time. It will take a bit to get used to where to put my hands so they are not in the way. But, it gives a taste of what I do when out plein air painting and teaching. I was going to try it out more, but we picked a very busy location with people doing their cardio going up and down the stairs.

We spent an hour and a half or so on painting, sketching in the scene, masking the whites/ light areas, laying in the initial colors. Between the start we did on site and the photos and memory, we can complete the painting at home.

Plein Air Sessions ($20 each session) Friday afternoon.

I will continue to go paint outdoors as the weather and colors hold. I will be switching to Friday afternoons. If you would like to join me for a plein air session ($20 and your own supplies), you can contact me for more information.

Next week, Oct 8, 1 pm we will gather at the Clifford E Lee Nature Sanctuary. 

What to paint, listening and responding…

Whether I am walking, hiking, on a bike, or in a car, I am soaking in the view, the details and the beauty of the world around me. I am open to possibilities and yet when one comes it sometimes seems to leap out to catch me, other times the beauty just quiets my soul.

We were camping at Gregg Lake in the William Switzer provincial park. As we biked through the park, there were a couple places that caught my eye enticing me to come back to paint them. In the morning, as we sat by the lake, I painted the first one: the misty morning mountain. The kayakers paddled into the painting as I worked on the peaceful scene I shared last month.

In the afternoon, I took my supplies and biked back to the end of the lake that had caught my eye earlier, where the water meanders a path through the reeds, reflecting the surrounding hills. In the shallows where a stream empties into the lake, submerged rocks add their hidden depth to the beauty.

The trials of plein air - painting on location.

I did the preliminary layers of paint on location that afternoon in the sunshine, but as the clouds rolled back in, the light changed enough, so I stopped working. (Besides, we wanted to take our own kayak out.)

The next day the same scene looked very different. The light that had caught my eye the day before was not there. It would have changed the mood of the painting and the hidden depth was not as visible on the cloudy day. It just felt different, less inspiring. 

When is a painting finished?

I took the painting and the photographs with me to work on during one of the art walk weekends. I was disappointed with the photos as they did not line up with what I remembered, but I worked with them anyway and got to a completed stage.

Yet, later at home, the painting still was missing that hidden depth of the foreground that had captured my eye in the first place. But what I remembered wasn’t in the photos. How could I paint it in?

Then, as I was going back through my phone, looking for the photo I took of my set up on site where I used my bike as the easel, I finally had a photo that matched what I remembered. With this photo, I was then able to do the finishing touches on the painting. Yeah!

Sometimes, or maybe more often than not, I have to push past what I think Is done. I set a painting up against the wall and sit with it for a awhile until it tells me that there is more to do with it or it is done. 

A matter of perspective, reflections on the journey…

Often, while I paint and work on a piece, I wonder what it was that caught my attention. For this painting, what was it about the rocks in the foreground, and the ones I could see through the water in places, the hidden depth that the camera could not see? It was like seeing two perspectives at once: the reflective surface and what is underneath in the hidden depths.

We have hidden depths. We also reflect (deflect) to hide ourselves, sometimes intentionally, sometimes subconsciously. With the right lens, we can see to the hidden depths within ourselves. There is beauty there to be discovered, in each and every one of us.

It takes a journey to find those hidden depths in ourselves and in each other. It is worth the journey.

We have had a full summer already with a family visit, in-person classes opening up, art walks to participate in, new websites, and projects to create. Yet, we have taken a weekend each month (June -Aug) to go camping and get out to enjoy the beauty of Alberta. Inspired by the quiet beauty of the landscapes we saw, I started a painting on location on each trip, completing the pieces at home.

Sometimes this is restful, and other times I am trying hard to get it right and I feel tense or anxious. Often, I have to get through it to the other side, but it takes trusting the process and letting go of ‘getting it right.’ It all looks the same on the outside (a painting results) but how I feel along the way changes. Stillness and being present are key to getting past the tense parts, but it isn’t always easy and sometimes I just have to start over.

I was listening to more of Steve Bell’s work recently, and his song, Wait Alone in the Stillness, caught my attention. I resonated with the phrase: “wait alone in stillness, O my soul, wait alone.”  I have long meditated on the verse which I believe the song is based on (in Psalm 62) – for God alone my soul waits in silence. Bell’s rendition changes the semantics of the phrase, and I can’t help pondering the meaning of his interpretation. There is an element of trust in “for God alone my soul waits…” In the former, the sense is about being alone in the stillness. (The Hebrew word "duwmiyah" can be translated as silence, stillness, quiet, trust, waits.) I think for me stillness also means, giving myself space in quiet – no phone, no music or book to read, not necessarily painting or doing. It was in this kind of stillness that the thoughts for this blog started to churn. I thought about it more as we went camping last weekend and I sat again in stillness.

I have been learning the value of stillness, of quieting myself, being present to the moment. When I am practicing that presence as I paint, it is calming and restful and I can lose myself and let the painting take me where it wants to go. I can listen, relax and trust the process.

However, when I cannot be present, when I am worried about getting it right, or what others may think of the piece, or any other part of my life I am anxious about, then there is a couple of different exercises I might perform to release tension. I can take a deep breathe and try to get present again or I can set what I am working on aside and find my way back to stillness by just playing and creating. Allowing myself to experiment and play with my mediums gives me the break I need to release my anxiety in the creation process, letting it express itself. Once that is released, I can return to the piece that was causing me angst.

During the winter of 2020-2021, as I was feeling down and stressed, I needed that sort of space, and I tried something new to “play” with, acrylic pouring and methods of using fluid acrylics. It was a fun process. I tried pouring and moving the fluid paint by blowing it using a few alternative methods; a straw, blow dryer, balloon, cling wrap, and turntable, were all employed in my efforts. I continued to experiment. Once I understood the process more, I could apply it in other paintings. It will also become part of what I teach in acrylics classes. The pieces I created will be available at my next art walks for those who are curious.

Here are some of the results of some of my favorite acrylic pours and experiments:

Do you find ways to practice stillness, or being present?

Northern Lights in Watercolor  Workshop  Register at Paintspot.ca

Nov 13
10 am - 4 pm.

$80

Capture the beauty and movement of the Northern Lights using watercolor in this step-by-step workshop. These simple landscapes can be done by beginner to advanced students.
Learn to:

• work with pouring and wet into wet to create movement in a night sky
• mix colors to create the night scene
• use photo references and imagination to sketch out ideas for painting the landscape
• combine different watercolor techniques to achieve the elements in the landscape

Supply List for Workshop:

Watercolors: tube paint 

• Dioxazine purple or Deep, dark purple
• Alizarin crimson
• Phthalo blue
• Lemon yellow
• Permanent Green

Palette for watercolor
Arches 140 lb cold press full sheet, tear into quarters
Painting boards (tape on watercolor paper) heavy cardboard or Masonite are good options
Green painter’s tape
Container for water Brushes

• 1 in flat brush
•  Rigger brush
• Small Round brush
• Assorted other brushes

Rag/ paper towel
Masking fluid
Old toothbrush
Salt
Sea sponge
Cling wrap
Pencil and eraser
(optional – permanent ink pen with fine tip)
Small sketchbook
Photo references (optional): northern lights, landscapes in the dark
Apron
Lunch, water bottle

For this commissioned painting, Lilac Garden, I recently finished, I imagined a place of peace and rest. I would like to sit and enjoy a garden like that. I am so glad they liked the painting!

I used eggshells and sand for the texture of the wall and sawdust for texture in the ground. The stone path was also of eggshells. It is a fun way to create texture. The bench was made from acrylic paint I mixed and poured out on plastic so it would be like a “skin” of paint. I cut out the bench and attached it over the painting for another 3D effect.

As I write this, I am sitting on our deck in the cooler morning hours, listening to the variety of birdsong around me. and enjoying the beauty of the flowers in planters. This year for one of the pots, I chose a flame colored dahlia which I started to paint in watercolor to capture its translucent, brilliant beauty. I am including a short video here of the first part of the painting. 

Since Easter, I have been noticing our resident hawk. I noticed when it looked like he got a mate. Since June started, I have been too preoccupied to notice, but this week, I discovered that the hawks have now become a family of five. They were all sitting in a tree together sitting perfectly still as the sun came up. Alittle while later, two of the younger ones were calling out and flying in circles like two children at play. I had wondered why I was hearing the call of this bird more frequently throughout the neighborhood. The “youngsters” actively and incessantly voice their flights, more so than the parents.

I love that even in the city, we can see and hear the beauty of the natural world if I stop long enough to notice, to sit and just “be present.”

The idea of sitting still is foreign to our culture. It has taken work, but I find myself sitting and not feeling a need to always do something. I must admit that I easily fall back into doing mode and wander around lost when I have nothing pressing on me to get done. I can feel the difference when I am racing around, exhaustedly trying to get a lot done; when I push myself past where I should have stopped or rested. But I find if I maintain being present as I work, pausing to smell the flowers and listen to the birds, I am more awake, alert and relaxed to deal with whatever comes my way. It is more peaceful and I feel content.

In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. Is 30: 15

We enjoyed a week with our children and grandchildren around. I had lots of opportunity to practice just being present with everyone and enjoying the time we had together. Like the young hawks, children have a lot more energy and keep the rest of us moving. So thankful for the visit with all of them!